Honduras 2015....our friends

Our translators who spent the entire week with us.   Without them we would be lost...literally!

Horizontas crew. 

Our dental patients who wait so patiently and have so much fun with us. 

Hotel La Posada staff who make us feel at home.   This is Maria (Sikora). 

Sonrisas team who support MRC dispite all their own work to do.  

La Paz and Sister Edith. 

Jennifer at La Vida who was an amazing person to get to work with and who we hope to continue working with. 

The mountain kids who walk quickly into our lives and leave their lasting mark on our hearts.  

Honduras 2015....unexpected beauty

Honduras 2015 bloopers

Honduras 2/6/15

Today was the last day in Honduras.   It was another full one for the MRC crew.  

We started out by putting together a foosball table.  (Yea, you read that right)

This took up a good chunk of our morning.  

In the afternoon we went to Horizontas to deliver the table and books for their library.  

As a side note, this is how the table was transported....and yes we took out 1 power line. 

Delivering books to Horizontas is always a mixed bag of emotions for us.   This orphanage holds a very special place in our hearts as those kids are what sparked our love for this country.  This place is where James decided he wanted to start working and also holds the library named after Mile Owens.   Mandy (Mike's sister) was able to join us again today and as always enjoyed being there.  

The kids are all older now and are turning into young men.  They are a bit more serious and focused but warmed up quickly and had a great time.   As always, after delivering the books we spent the rest of the time playing soccer, ping pong, and of course foosball.  

Honduras this year was different.  We went there with a ton of work to accomplish and actually got it all done.  We are exhausted but feeling good.  We made some new friends, got to see old ones, and as always enjoyed our team.  

We're sad to leave, we truly love Honduras for everything it is...beautiful mountain views speckled with a life that should be easier than it is.  There are amazing people here, doing what they are called to do and living each day for others.  

There is not a day that goes by that we don't think of our friends in a world so far away.....counting the days till our return! 

Honduras 2/5/15

Today was our last full work day to see patients.   Was challenging across the board.   The clinic saw patients that required a TON of work and the mountain team had their hands full with walk in patients.   

Both had their ups and downs but the team this year has done a great job of working together.   When one person starts to feel down another is right there to help keep them going.  Without this we could never be successful on a trip like this.  We have all been placed so far outside of our comfort zone and are pushed mentally and physically sometimes all you need is someone to make you smile.  

Example: the serious game after a long day in the clinic! (The doctors and translators all had competition rounds that had us all laughing so hard we were crying) 

Honduras 2/4/15

This morning we pretended to be dental people, helping out in the clinic.  

This afternoon was huge for MRC. 

Our first stop La Vida, to deliver backpacks. We were able to fundraise to supply La Vida with 190 backpacks full of school supplies.  La Vida is an after school program for the students in this area.  They come for tutoring and religion classes.  They also provide them with physical needs.  A perfect example is while we were there Jennifer (our wonderful host) was working out the details of having one of her students admitted to the hospital to treat an infection. 

While there we were able to pass out about half our stock and left the rest for the students who participate in the morning sessions. 

Jennifer, Wanda, and all the students are in our thoughts and prayers for continued success and we hope to be of more help in the future. 

After that we continued on back to La Paz. 

There we delivered all the books and supplies. BUT....with the help of Sonrisas we were able to also purchase groceries earlier in the week and delivered those as well.   We have been to La Paz before and feel very comfortable with this group, especially the kids.  

La Paz is ran by Sister Edith who has this amazing ability to stay calm and sweet while keeping all 25 kids in line.  There is so much love in this facility, you can really feel it when you walk in.  Most of the students were still away at school but we were able to see a few.  

I'm writing this today with a full heart and spirit.  The children here have so much need it is heart breaking and can leave a person shattered.  However, today I'm filled with hope as the students we met today have some truly amazing people in their corner who are willing to give their all for them.  It's because of people like Sister Edith, Jennifer, and Wanda who put their needs on hold and serve others that these kids will have a chance.  I'm blessed that we were able to join their world ( a small fraction of it) and pray that I can continue to learn from people like this and that we will see them again. 

Marie

Honduras 2/3/15

Today the team was split up.  

James and Ben spent the day in the clinic and Marie went up to the mountain clinic.  

Here are some pics....

Sonrisas Siempre

Sonrisas Siempre is the dental team that we come down with every year.   This was founded my Dr Steve Ellinwood and Dr Tom Blake.  They both have a servants heart and are amazing leaders of this group.  

It is rare to get to see people in their best form...however, when you come on these types of trips that shines through brightly. 

If you don't know the story already...James traveled with Sonrisas four years ago because he wanted an "experience."  Well....you can see where that took us! 

His first year here sparked an idea that lead to the development of The Read a Book program.  Steve and Tom (we're non-dental people so first name basis is acceptable!) have been nothing but supportive in helping us achieve the goals we had set and have never thought anything too difficult.  

Thank you is not enough....

A special thanks...

This year so many people helped get us down here.

  We wanted to say thank you to all the students at Blackhawk Middle School and their teacher Mrs. Olson,  Jefferson students and Ms. Goodman, Ms. Birch and Ms. Auchenbach, L. C. Ward students and their principal Grady Pruitt, Tracy Huckleberry, Amy Wheeler , Rita Whitman,  Cheryl Terhune, Susan Holleran, Lisa York, and Toni Printos. 

 We also have to thank Rita Tippmann and the Charlie Tippmann Foundation for their long time and unwavering support.  You not only help with funding but your thorough understanding of our programs and personal involvement has allowed this program, in particular, has allowed this program to grow and reach even more people.  

The Daughters of Penelope for their support and well wishes.  

We also need to thank our family and friends who constantly put up with us fundraising for this and that and adjusting their schedules to accommodate ours.  

Honduras 2/2/15

Today we finally got to work! 

We were able to join the dentists outside of the clinic.  We drove about 20 min away in the back of a truck.   The ride was fun, at first, then it got bumpy....

We worked out of a very small one room school.  The set up was a squeeze but doable. 

Here are some school pics:

Today the dentists (and us) were surprised to see that a lot of kids did not need any work at all...or if they did it was a tooth they would lose soon.  This is amazing.  I pray God continues to watch over their mouths.  We were pretty remote so this came as a shock.  Most of the time the teeth are pretty bad.  For me being in Public Health I love to see this improvement.   Dental health is crucial to keeping the body healthy.  The docs pulled about 100 teeth in all.   I've worked on some days where that number is tripled.  

So....since there was not a ton of work to do we put florid treatment on everyone and sent them home with books.  

After working in the mountains it was time to go back to the grocery store.   When we adopted La Paz orphanage this year we had planned on purchasing items (which we did) for their kitchen and give the Sister the cash to go buy groceries.  Well...upon arrival we found out that going to the grocery store was a ton of work for her.  So with the help of Sonrisas (dental team) we were able to double the money MRC had for groceries and find a ride to the store. 

So I went and bought eggs, pasta, rice, beans, corn meal, flour, sugar, salt, powered milk, cereal, cooking oil, pasta sauce, laundry soap, and some other items that I wasn't sure what to do with but are necessary to make tortillas.  

All of the groceries will be delivered with the books later in the week. 

I don't have any pictures of the store...sorry....was too busy trying to calculate the conversions in my head! 

More later today! 

-Marie

Honduras 2/01/15

Today we were really on Honduran time! 

This means our plans were "delayed".   We were able to see a few patients and get out to La Paz but we all had the very important lesson of being flexible.  

At La Paz we were able to see the new building for the orphanage.  This is a brand new facility complete with actual furniture and a garden.   If you scroll all the way back through this blog you will see what it used to look like.   The old structure was heart breaking, this new structure is encouraging.  

The only downside was the kids were not there.  We had a small miscommunication on time and did not see them.   That's ok though because we will go back later in the week.  

Here in Honduras all the students are preparing to go back to school in a few days.   The above picture is all the kids' uniforms pressed and ready to go.  

In the afternoon we headed downtown to have our "culture day." 

Being down town reminds me of the beauty that this country has, despite the struggle and hard time of the people here.  I'm ready to get to work tomorrow and start doing what we came here to do. 

PS: yes we watched the Super Bowl!